Hello, friends and fans. In case you’ve been wondering how we are, the short answer is overwhelmed. It’s been a month since we last posted an update, and in the meantime, our middle son went in for emergency gallbladder surgery, Joe got another job offer, our Jeep is in the shop, and we’ve been invaded by little gnats that were living the in the bag of potting soil outside, only to waken and reproduce by the billions in my repotted houseplants. Good gravy.

I got a text this morning from a friend who is also overwhelmed, and she said sometimes she feels like she’s living in a toilet: nice and clean water, shiny porcelain, and then the universe shits on your head. LOLSOB.

It is, however, amazing how much can happen in one month. Joe is doing almost everything independently now, including dressing himself, working full-time, and even driving. He feels a deep ache in his arms daily, though some days are better than others. It’s easy to see in his progress that the break in his left arm was much worse than the right. His right hand opens and closes easily, writing doesn’t pose a challenge, and he has good grip strength. With his left hand, he struggles to hold anything in his palm because the wrist will still not rotate well. He’s working on it multiple times daily and still seeing a PT twice a week.

He commented this morning that it’s easy to see both how much progress he’s made and how much more he has to go. 

I am finally feeling able to get back into the swing of things. You’ll find more posts on social media from Unwhelm Coaching, and Unwhelminars are back every Friday. It was really great to kick off this reinvigoration with Haley Young of the blog Paws and Reflect in light of the fact that dog daycare and boarding have been paying our bills for the last two months!

Peter Brady continues to be inspirational for Dad. He hasn’t yet taken him out on a leash alone because that could injure even a strong set of bones in the wrong circumstances (we’re working on that), but Peter does encourage us to get out every day. We’ve had typical New Mexico Spring weather, which means inches of slushy snow followed fifteen minutes later by warm sunshine.

This is the point in healing that’s just a grind. You don’t notice daily improvement, and the exercises are boring and repetitive. But this is also the point where it’s really important to keep going. Joe works to stay positive, but sometimes it’s really tough. The really, really good news is that he’s been picking up and playing the guitar a little bit every day, and though it’s really hard, it’s getting easier.

Thank you again for all of your support and help and love. Cards, letters, little gifts, donations, generous contributions to the WTF Else Could Go Wrong Fund. We see them and appreciate them all.